Fisherman&#39;s needle.



W. J1 MAY.

FIBHBBMANS NEEDLE.

APrLIouIoN FILED 111111.14, 1909.

954,319.` Patented Apn, 1910.

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[NYE/V701? Milian JJag/ ggg/gies 1 l i By 4UNITED STATES 'lilENT FFCE.

WILLIAM JACKSON MAY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

FISHERMANS NEEDLE.

Application tiled August 14, 1909.

T o all whom it Imuy concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLLAM JAoiisoN MAY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and Improved Fishermans Needle, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to needles such as used by fishermen for repairing their nets or seines.

A fter making a haul, the fishermen usually ind that at certain points their nets are torn and after each haul it is necessary to hang up the nets and inspect them thoroughly so as to locate and repair the net where the mesh has been broken. These nets are usually hung over Jframes supported on posts set in sho-al water, and the tishermen in making the repairs pass around the net on a foot board `just above the surface ot the Water. then the broken place has been repaired with cord. it is always necessary to cut the cord, this necessitates the constant use of a knite.

The object of this invention is to produce a needle having a special construction including a knife which can be readily operated when desired. Under normal conditions the edge of the knife docs not protrude from the body ot' the needle so that the blade is held in an inoperative position.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more tully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claires.

Reference is to loe had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters ot reterenco indicate corresponding parts in all the ligures.

Figure 1 a side elevation of a fishernians needle constructed according to my invention and showing the lini't'e blade in its normal position; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the blade in its operative position; Fig. 3 is an edge elevation of the device; and Fig. 4 is a cross section upon an enlarged scale taken on the line fle-i ot' Fig. 1.

Y Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the tongue of the needle which projects toward the head Q, being located on the central axis of the needle between the main bar 3 and the bar 4. The bar 3 is in- Specication of Letters Patent.

tegral with the head 2, and the butt 5 of the Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

serieu No. 512,270.

needle. The bar 4 is integral with the butt 5, but is severed from the head on the rounded or curved edge t3, which edge forms a seat for the rounded end 7 of this bar. The resiliency of the bar d tends to hold it in the position shown in Fig. l, with its end resting on the seat, as will be readily understood.

On the side ot' the head 2, a lcniie blade 8 is attached by means ot a pivot pin 9, and the butt end of this blade projects toward the rear ot the needle, and lies over the end of the bar 4 to which it is attached loosely by means ot a pivot pin 10. The outer edge 11 of the blade conforms closely to the adjacent edge ot the head 2, and the blade is provided with a straight cutting edge 12 which nornullly lies near the central axis of the blade, as shown in Fig. l. The twine.which is used in repairing the net is attached to the needle in the usual manner, and the needle is manipulated so as to repair the net. 1When it is desired to cut the cord the bars l and 'l. are compressed; the bar et will then move inwardly, as indicated in Fig. 2. This rotates the butt end of the knife inwardly so that the tip oit the knife projects across the edge of the head. In this way an angle 13 is formed in which the cord may be received so as to be cut olf by the blade. lt should be understood that the pin 10 docs not lit tightly in its opening in the blade so that. there is enough lost motion at this point to permit the blade to swing on its pivot.

lfla'ving thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,m

1. A lisherrnans needle having a head and a butt, a side bar rigidly connecting said head and said butt, a second side bar opposite said tirst side bar connected with said butt and unattached to said head, and a blade pivotally mounted on said head and connected with said second har.

A lishermans needle having a head and a butt, a resilient bur extending from said butt toward said head, and a blade pivotally mounted on said head and attached to said resilient bar, said bar affording means for actuating said blade.

3. A lisherinans needle comprising a head and a butt, a pair ot bars connecting said head and said butt, one ot' said bars being unattached to said head, free to move laterally, and integral with said butt, and a blade pivotally mounted on the side of said head having a cutting edge adapted to project across the edge of said head when Said blade rotates, said blade being connected with said unattaehed bar.

4. A ishern'ians needle having a head, a blade pivotally mounted on said head and having an edge normally completely Superposed on Said head, and a movable member extending longitudinally of said needle connected With Said blade and alil'oldingey means for rotating Said hlade so that eaid edge projects across the edge of Said head and forme a cutting angle with the edge of Said head.

A shermans needle having a head and having a butt for retaining the thread, and lb a knife pivotally attached on said head and having a cutting edge Coaeting with the edge of the head to eut the thread 1n inending the l net'.

In testimony whereof I have Signed my 2e naine to thisspecification in the presence of two subst-1*] hing witnesses.

"ILLIAM JACKSON MAY. Titneseez E. B. ELLIS, II. WV. KAISER. 

